Adjustable vehicle seat mounting

ABSTRACT

A pair of interconnected, spaced-apart slide devices arranged to support a seat assembly between longitudinally spaced positions relative to the floor of a vehicle. Each slide device includes an upper support member for attachment to the seat unit, a lower support fixed to the vehicle floor, means providing a track between the upper and lower support members and latch means for locking the upper and lower supports at a selected relative position. The upper support member also has means for anchoring the terminal ends of a safety belt assembly associated with the seat assembly. The upper support also has a pair of rigid flange sections straddling a slide unit and arranged to prevent separation of the slide unit components. The latching means includes a latch member associated with each of the slide devices and interconnected one to the other for cooperative movement between a first position wherein the latches engage a selected pair of teeth formed in the lower fixed supports to lock the two supports one to the other and a second position wherein the latches disengage the teeth to free the upper movable supports for longitudinal movement relative to their respective lower fixed supports.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Oakley A. LaFleche 3,237,907 3/1966Dall 248/430 Eureka Springs, Ark.; 3,310,274 3/1967 Tanaka et al.248/430 Harry Wonell, Garden City, Mich. 3,350,046 10/1967 Kirk 248/430[21 l 830,629 FOREIGN PATENTS [22] Filed 51969 566 665 11/1958 (3 d 248430 Division of Ser. No. 614,863, Feb. 9. 1967, a Pat. No. 3,469,8[2Primary ExaminerMarion Parsons, Jr. [45] Patented June 1, 1971 AttorneyHauke, Gifford and Patalidis [73] Assignee Howell Industries,Incorporated Detroit, Mich.

ABSTRACT: A pair of interconnected, spaced-apart slide devices arrangedto support a seat assembly between longitudinally spaced positionsrelative to the floor of a vehicle. Each slide device includes an uppersupport member for attachment [54] ADJUSTABLE VEHCLE SEAT MOUNTING tothe seat unit, a lower support fixed to the vehicle floor, 9 C'aims 5Drawing Figs means providing a track between the upper and lower supportmembers and latch means for locking the upper and lower [52] US. Cl248/430, supports t a l t d l ti iti Th upper Support 248/420 memberalso has means for anchoring the terminal ends of a [51] Int. Cl B60n1/08, f t belt assembly associated with the Sea! assembly The 13/00upper support also has a pair of rigid flange sections straddling [50]Field of Search 248/420, 3 Shde unit and arranged to prevent separationf the Slide unit 4310;297/346 components. The latching means includes alatch member as- [56] References Cited sociated with each of the slidedevices and interconnected one to the other for cooperative movementbetween a first posi- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion wherein the latchesengage a selected pair of teeth formed 2,235,904 3/1941 Schulz 248/430in the lower fixed supports to lock the two supports one to the2,614,608 10/1952 Ardussi 297/346 other and a second position whereinthe latches disengage the 3,120,371 2/1964 Dall 248/430 teeth to freethe upper movable supports for longitudinal 3,207,554 9/1965 Dall248/429 movement relative to their respective lower fixed supports.

I 2a 4 20 5a fi a PATENIEH JUN 1 I97! SHEET 2 OF 2 IIIIIIIIIII INVENTORSOAKLEY "A. LAFLECHE ATTORNEY ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE SEAT MOUNTING REFERENCETO RELATED APPLICATION This is a division from application Ser. No.614,863, filed Feb. 9, 1967 now US. Pat. No. 3,469,8l2.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to a vehicle seat, and more particularly to an adjustablesupporting apparatus permitting a seat assembly to be selectively lockedvarious adjusted positions relative to a fixed portion of the vehicle.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional adjustable seat devicescomprise a pair of laterally spaced, supporting apparatus having anindividual latching means interconnected one to the otherand operativelyconnected to a release handle. The supporting apparatus normally takesthe form of an upper-support attached to the seat assembly, a lowersupport fixed to the floor of the vehicle and some sort of slidemechanism interconnecting the upper and lower supports for relativelongitudinal movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.A latch mechanism associated with the supporting device permits theupper and lower supports to be locked in a selected relative positiongenerally corresponding to the physical dimensions of the occupant ofthe seat.

Conventional adjustable seat mounting devices of the aforementioned typehave a number of drawbacks generally related to safety features andreflected in the degree of distortion that takes place in the deviceduring a sudden deceleration produced by a collision or similar type ofaccident. One disadvantage is related to the slide assemblyinterconnecting upper and lower support members.

Normally, the slide assembly comprises a pair of companion, elongated,U-shaped slide members having laterally formed portions of theirsidewalls interconnected to one another by ball or roller bearingsarranged to provide a relatively frictionless adjustment. Inertialforces acting on the seat assembly during a sudden deceleration producea transverse force on the slide assembly tending to bend the sidewallsoutwardly so that they separate or peel one from the other. Thepreferred embodiment of the present invention obviates this problem byproviding an upper support member arranged to prevent the lateralbending of the sidewalls of the slide mem' bers so that their relativeseparation is prevented.

Another problem of the seat mounting apparatus of the prior art isrelated to the means for anchoring the fixed end of safety seatbelt'devices. It is common practice to anchor the terminal ends of seatbelts to a fixed lower portion of the vehicle, normally the floor. Thereason for this arrangement is to prevent a sudden displacement of theoccupant of the seat relative to the vehicle in the event of a suddendeceleration so that the occupant is not thrown against various injuryproducing portions of the interior of the vehicle. The disadvantage ofthis arrangement is that while the seat belt assembly restrains theoccupant against a forward displacement, high inertial forces tend toforce the seat assembly forward so that the occupant is sandwichedbetween the seat belt and the seat assembly and incurs serious internalinjuries. The preferred embodiment of the present invention obviatesthis problem by providing means for anchoring the terminal ends of theseat belt assembly to the movable portion of the seat mounting apparatusso that the seat belt, the occupant, and the seat assembly are shiftedforward as a unit.

Another problem associated with conventional slide devices is related tothe means for locking the companion support members one to the other ata fixed relative position. Conventional latch devices take the form of alatch member pivotally attached to one of the slide members andengageable -with a series of teeth formed in the opposite slide member.This latching arrangement has two serious disadvantages which take theform of a reduction in the stress-transmitting sections of the slidemembers. The teeth'are normally provided in a flange section of one ofthe slide members thereby removing portions of a stress-transmittingarea. The preferred embodiment of the present invention obviates thesestructural weakening problems by providing a ratchet locking device inwhich the locking teeth are provided only on the stationary seat supportmembers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiment of the presentinvention takes the form of an elongated, flat, upright fixed supportmember attached to the floor of the vehicle and interconnected through asuitable slide assembly with a movable support member adapted forattachment to the seat assembly. The movable support member has agenerally U-shaped cross section including a pair of rigid downwardlydepending flanges straddling the fixed support member. A suitable slidedevice is arranged between the flange portions to provide means forsliding movement between the support members. The flange portions of themovable support member provide a rigid reinforcement for preventingseparation of the slide assembly components in the event of a suddendeceleration.

The lower fixed support member is provided with a series of teeth and aconnecting slot each of which is associated with a selected relativeposition of the seat assembly with respect to the floor of the vehicle.The flange portions of the movable support member are apertured toreceive a latch member pivotally movable relative to the direction oflongitudinal movement of the support members. The latch member isdisplaceable between a first position wherein it engages a selectedtooth in the fixed support member to rigidly lock the two supports oneto the other and a second position wherein the latch is moved away fromthe teeth so that the upper movable support member is free forlongitudinal movement with respect to the lower fixed support member.

Preferably the slide devices are arranged in oppositely spaced pairs onthe floor of the vehicle with the slide device associated with thedriver side provided with a suitable handle for actuation of the latchmember. The two opposite latch members are interconnected through a wirefor simultaneous operation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a saferadjustable seat mounting device for a vehicle having a seat beltassembly for restraining an occupant disposed in the seat assembly byproviding means for anchoring the terminal ends of the seat beltassembly to the moveable sections of the seat mounting device.

It is another object of the present invention to improve theconstruction of adjustable seat mounting devices having a movablesupport member connected to a fixed support member through a slideassembly by providing a movable support member having rigid, unyieldingflange portions straddling the slide assembly to prevent separation ofthe componentsthereof.

It is a still further object of the present invention to prevent peelingor separation of the interengaged sidewalls of the companion members ofslide assemblies in adjustable seat mounting apparatus by providing arigid reinforcing member having spaced side flanges arranged to preventlateral movement of the sidewalls of the companion slide members.

A stillfurther object of the present invention is to provide an improvedlatching arrangement for locking the movable portion of a seat-mountingapparatus to the fixed portion by providing a latch member engageablewith a selected one of a series of teeth formed in the fixed supportingmember.

Still further objects and advantages of the present invention willreadily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertainsupon reference to the following detailed descriptron.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description refers to theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to likeparts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a pair of interconnected slidedevices illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view on one of the slide devices taken alonglines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one of the slide devices takenalong lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1 and illustrating thecross section of the preferred slide devices;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the slide devices illustratedin FIG. 3, but with parts broken away for purposes of description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings,FIGS. 1 to 5 illustrate a preferred seat mounting arrangement ascomprising a pair of laterally spaced slide devices and 12 provided withopposite latching mechanisms 16 and I8 interconnected by a wire 20. Ahandle 22 is operably engageable with the latch mechanism 18 to producesimultaneous engagement and disengagement of the latch mechanisms 16 and18 in a manner which will be subsequently described. The slide devices10 and 12 are arranged to support a seating unit 24 for relativeadjustable displacement with respect to the floor 14.

Slide devices 10 and 12 each include a lower support member 26 having apair of laterally directed flange portions 28 adapted for connection tothe floor 14 by suitable means.

The lower support members 26 each have an upright section defining anelongated track 30 generally running in a fore and aft direction withrespect to the vehicle. Each upright lower support member 26 is alsoprovided with a pair of elongated slots 34 and 36 having side edgesrunning parallel to the track 30. A rack 38 is provided in each lowersupport member 26, spaced below the slot 34. Each rack 38 has a seriesof teeth 40 extending in a direction parallel to the side edges of theslots 34 and 36 and the track 30. The rack 38 has a length defining thelimits of longitudinal displacement between the seat 24 and the floor14.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, an upper support member 42mounted on each of the lower support members 26 has upwardly directedthreaded members 44 to provide a means for attachment to the seatassembly 24.

The upper support member 42 has a pair of spaced, downwardly dependingflange sections 46 (FIG. 4) straddling the lower support 26.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a pair of nylon spacers 48, only one ofwhich is shown, are retained in notches 51 formed in the track 30 andprovide a slidable engagement with the upper support member 42.

Each upper support member 42 is also provided with a pair ofspaced-apart roller bearings 50, each joumaled on a stud member 52carried by the flanges 46. As can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, theroller members 50 are each associated with the slot 34 and 36 and arereceived therein to provide a rolling, antifriction engagement betweenthe upper support member 42 and the lower support member 26. Preferablythe roller members 50 have a diameter corresponding to the distancebetween the side edges of the slots 34 and 36 to eliminate any play orlooseness between the support members.

Each of the rearward studs 52 associated with the rearward rollermembers 50 in slot 36 are also provide means for attaching a seat beltfixture 54 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The fixtures 54 provide a means foranchoring the looped terminal ends of seat belts 56. Thus, it can beseen that the seat belts 56 move with the upper movable support member42 as it is adjusted between forward and rearward positions relative tothe lower support member 26. Furthermore, it can be seen that, when thelatching means 16 and 18 are in disengaged position, the upper supportmembers 42 are freely movable with respect to the lower support members26.

Now referring to FIGS. I, 3 and 4, the latching means 18 comprises aflange 58 extending normal to the inner flange 46 of the slide device12. A pin 60 is carried by the flange 58 and is supported on an axisgenerally parallel to the rack 38. As can best be seen in FIG. 4, alatch member 62 is carried by the pin 60 and extends through vertically,elongated apertures 64 provided in each of the flanges 46. The apertures64 register with the rack 38 so that the latch 62 is pivotal between araised position wherein it engages a selected pair of teeth 40 to lockthe upper support member 42 to the lower support member 26 and a loweredposition wherein it releases the teeth 40 to permit free movement of theupper support member 42 with respect to the lower support member 26. Ascan best be seen in FIG. 3, a spring biased member 66 wrapped around thepin 60 has one end acting against the flange 46 and its opposite endreacting against the latch member 62 to maintain it in a normally raisedand engaged position.

Referring to FIGS. I and 2, the handle 22 is pivotally connected by apin 68 to the outer flange 46 and has an end portion 70 arranged toengage the outer end of the latch member 62. Thus by raising the outerend of the handle 22, the end portion 70 produces a downward force onthe latch 64 sufficient to disengage the latch member 12 from the rack38 to permit slidable movement of the upper support member 42 withrespect to the lower support member 26. The outer end of the handle 22is normally maintained in a lowered downward position by a spring member72 having one end connected to the handle 22 and the opposite endengaged with a lateral flange 74 carried by the flange 46.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, a lever member 76 is supported forpivotal movement on the pin 60 and carries a finger 78 engageable withan abutment 80 provided on the latch member 62. The lever is member 76arranged for pivotal movement toward and away from the upper supportmember 42. When the handle 22 is raised to lower the latch member 62from engagement with the rack 38, the abutment 80 produces an upwardforce on the finger 78 so that the lever 76 pivots toward the right, asviewed in FIG. 4.

The latching means 16 of the slide device 10 comprises a pin 82supported by a flange 84 in a manner similar to the supportingarrangement for the pin 60 in the latching means 18. A latch member 86is joumaled to the pin 8 and pivotal between 'a raised position whereinthe latch member 86 engages the rack 38 of the slide device 10 and alowered position wherein the latch member 86 disengages its associatedrack 38. A spring 88 is wrapped around the pin 82 and acts against theflange 46 and react against the latch member 86 to normally maintain thelatch member 86 in a raised position.

The latch member 86 is also provided with an upwardly directed levermember 90 having its free end connected to one end of the wire 20 whilethe other end of the wire 20 is connected to the free end of the levermember 76. Thus, it can be seen that the lever members 76 and 90 aremovable in combination so that when the handle 22 is raised to disengagethe latch member from its associated rack 62 the latch member 86 issimultaneously lowered to disengage its associated rack.

As thus far described, we have illustrated in detail a rugged slideassembly comprising relatively few parts and having a movable uppersupport member 42 arranged so that its downwardly depending flangesections prevent separation from the lower support member 26 by thestuds 52, the rollers 50 and the latch and rack assembly.

It is therefore to be understood that we have described an improvedadjustable mounting device having a movable support member adapted forattachment to a seat assembly and interconnected through a suitableslide device to a lower support member attached to the floor of thevehicle. The movable supports have means for attaching the lowerterminal ends of a seat belt assembly. We have also described animproved seat mounting wherein the upper support member is provided withrigid downwardly depending flange sections straddling the lower fixedsupport member in a manner to maintain the slide assembly in a connectedcondition when subjected to high inertial forces tending to separate theslide devices. We have also described an improved seat mountingapparatus having a novel latch arrangement for interconnecting the uppersupport member directly to the lower support member to provide a rigidassembly able to withstand high transverse forces tending to separatethe support members.

It is also to be understood that we have described an improvedseat-mounting device wherein the rack and latch arrangement is remotelypositioned from the slide arrangement so that the slide units which takethe form of the roller members 50 and elongated slots 34-36 are notstructurally weakened by the latch arrangement.

Although we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention, itis to be understood that various changes and revisions can be madetherein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An adjustable vehicle seat mounting comprising:

a pair of fixed lower support members, each of said lower supportmembers being provided with an elongated opening having a plurality ofteeth provided along the upper edge thereof;

a pair of upper support members slidably disposed upon said lowersupport members for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each of saidupper support members comprising a generally U-shaped cross sectiondefined by downwardly depending side flanges extending along oppositesides of said lower support members connected by a bridge portionextending over the top of said lower support members;

a pair of aligned apertures in each of said upper support membersregistering with each of said elongated openings in said lower supportmembers;

latch means pivotally secured to one side flange of each of said uppersupport members, each of said latch means having a portion extendingthrough said pair of aligned apertures in said side flanges of each ofsaid upper support members and through said elongated opening in reachof said lower support members, such that said portion of each of saidlatch means extends outwardly of the other of said side flanges of eachof said upper support members;

means biasing each portion of said latch means to a first position fornormal engagement between a selected pair of said teeth of said openingsto thereby lock said upper support members against longitudinal movementrelative to said lower support members;

handle means pivotally secured to the other side flange of one of saidupper support members, said handle means being movable between a firstposition wherein it is spaced from the outwardly extended portion ofsaid latch means associated with said one upper support member, and asecond position wherein said handle means engages said last-mentionedlatch outwardly extending portion to pivot the same downwardly to asecond position out of engagement with said selected pair of said teethto free said one upper support member for movement along said rollersupport members; and

means for operatively connecting said last-mentioned latch means to theother of said latch means for pivoting said other latch means from saidfirst position to a second position out of engagement with itsassociated pair of teeth.

2. The seat mounting defined in claim 1, wherein said handle meanscomprises a lever pivotally mounted on said other side flange of saidone upper support member, said lever having a handle portion of apredetermined length and an opposite end portion of a selected lengthless than said first-mentioned predetermined length, said handle portionand said end portion extending in opposite directions from the point ofpivotal movement of said lever, said opposite end portion being disposedover said outwardly extending portion of said latch means associatedwith said one upper support member so that upon movement of saidopposite end portion of said lever by actuation of said handle portion,said end portion exerts a force on said latch extended portion to pivotsaid latch means out of engagement with said selected pair of teeth; and

means normally biasing said end portion to said first-mentioned portion.

3. The seat mounting defined in claim 2, wherein said lastmentionedbiasing means comprises: a spring, one end of which is carried by saidhandle portion, the other end of which is carried by said other sideflange of said one upper support member to normally pivot said handleportion downwardly and thus pivot said opposite end portion upwardlyaway from engagement with said outwardly extended latch portion.

4. A vehicle seat mounting comprising:

a pair of fixed lower support members, each of said lower supportmembers being provided with an elongated opening having a plurality ofteeth provided along the upper edge thereof;

a pair of upper support members slidably disposed on said lower supportmembers for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each of said uppersupport members comprising a generally U-shaped cross section defined bydownwardly depending side flanges extending along opposite sides of saidlower support members connected by a bridge portion extending over thetop of said lower support members;

a pair of aligned apertures in each of said side flanges of each of saidupper support members registering with said elongated openings in eachof said lower support mem bers;

one of said upper support members and the lower support memberassociated therewith defining a first slide mechanism, the other of saidupper support members and the lower support member associated therewithdefining a second slide mechanism, said first and second slidemechanisms being spaced apart a selected distance such that one sideflange of said first slide mechanism is in opposing relationship to oneside flange of said second slide mechanism; pair of latch means, one ofsaid latch means being pivotally secured to said one side flange of saidfirst slide mechanism and having a portion extending through said pairof aligned apertures in said side flanges of said upper support memberand through said elongated opening in the lower support member of saidfirst slide mechanism, the other of said latch means being pivotallysecured to the other side flange of said second slide mechanism, saidother latch means having a portion extending through said pair ofaligned apertures in said side flanges of said upper support member andthrough the elongated opening in said lower support member of saidsecond slide mechanism; each of said latch means being movable between afirst position for normal engagement between a selected pair of saidteeth of said openings to thereby lock said upper support membersagainst longitudinal movement relative to their associated lower supportmembers and a second position wherein said latch means are moved out ofengagement with said selected pair of teeth to free said upper supportmembers for movement along their associated'lower support members;

a pair of lever arms associated with each of said latch means, saidlever arms being mounted for pivotal movement and extending in anupwardly fashion;

means connecting the upper ends of said lever arms such that pivotalmovement of one of said latch means causes simultaneous pivotal movementof its associated lever arm, the other of said lever arms and pivotalmovement of the other of said latch means;

means biasing said latch means to said first-mentioned position; and

means for operatively engaging said one of said latch means to pivot thesame to said second position whereby said connecting means between saidpair of lever arms causes said other latching means to simultaneouslymove to said second position.

5. The mounting as defined in claim 4 wherein said operatively engagingmeans is adapted to engage the outwardly extending portion of the latchmeans carried by said first slide mechanism.

6. The seat mounting as defined in claim 4 wherein said operativelyconnecting means actuates the latch means carried by said first slidemechanism, said last-mentioned latch means comprising a flange membercarried by said one side flange of said first slide mechanism; a latchmember, one end of which is pivotally mounted to said flange memberabout an axis generally parallel to the axis of relative longitudinalmovement of said upper and lower support members of said first slidemechanism, the other end of said latch member extending through saidpair of apertures and engaging said selected pair of teeth associatedwith said first slide mechanism, said upwardly extending lever armassociated with said one latch means being supported for pivotalmovement by said flange member about the same axis of pivotal movementas said latch member, said last-mentioned lever arm having a fingerextending therefrom; said latch member having an abutment formed on saidone end and engaging said lever arm finger to pivot said lever arm inthe same direction about said pivot axis as said latch member pivotswhen actuated by said operatively engaging means; said pair of leverarms being connected in such a fashion that accidental disengagement ofthe latch mans associated with said second slide mechanism isineffective to cause disengagement of the latch means associated withsaid first slide member as said one latch member associated lever arm isadapted for independent pivotal movement in the direction correspondingto the direction which causes disengagement of said latch member withsaid selected pair of teeth.

7. An adjustable vehicle seat mounting comprising:

a pair of fixed lower support members, each of said lower supportmembers being provided with a first elongated opening having a pluralityof teeth provided along its upper edge, said lower support members eachhaving a second elongated opening spaced from said first elongatedopening, said second elongated opening being of a selected predeterminedlength;

a pair of upper support members slidably disposed on said lower supportmembers for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each of said uppersupport members comprising a generally U-shaped cross section defined bydownwardly depending side flanges extending along opposite sides of saidlower support members and connected by a bridge portion extending overthe top of said lower support members;

a pair of aligned apertures in each of said side flanges of each of saidupper support members registering with said first elongated opening insaid lower support members;

fastening means extending through each side flange in each upper supportmember and said second elongated opening in each lower support member,said fastening means preventing separation of said side flanges whensubjected to an external force;

bearing means carried by each of said fastening means and disposed insaid second elongated openings for providing a rolling antifrictionengagement between the upper support members and their associated lowersupport members, the amount of relative longitudinal movement betweeneach upper support member and its associated lower support member beinglimited by the abutment of said bearing means with the opposite ends ofsaid second elongated opening;

latch means pivotally secured to each of said upper support members andextending through said pair of aligned apertures in said side flanges ofeach of said upper support members and through said elongated openingsin each of said lower support members;

said latch means being movable between a first position for normalengagement between a selected pair of said teeth in said first elongatedopeningto thereby lock said upper support members against longitudinalmovement relative to said lower support member; and

means to move said latch means to a second position out of engagementwith said selected pair of said teeth to free said upper support membersfor movement along said lower support members between the limits definedby the abutment of said bearing means with the opposite ends of saidsecond elongated opening.

8. The seat mounting defined in claim 7 including means for mountingsaid seat to said upper support member.

9. The seat mounting as defined in claim 8 including means adapted tosecure a safety belt to said fastening means such that said safety beltis movable with said upper support members as said upper support membersmove relative to said lower support members.

HII-lOO-A-l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3, 582, 033 Dated June 1, 1971 Inventor(s) Oakley A. LaFleche andHarry Wondell It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

IN THE SPECIFICATION:

Col. 1, line 12, after "locked" insert --in--:

C01. 3, line 56, change "slot" to --slots-;

line 63, delete "are";

Col. 4, line 20, change "12" to -62;

line 31, change "is member 76" to member 76 is--;

line 40, change "8" to --82-;

line 45, after "46 and" delete "react against";

line 58, after "sections" insert ---46-;

IN THE CLAIMS:

Col. 7, line 26, change "mans" to -vmeans-;

Signed and sealed this 30th day of November 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer ActingCommissioner of Patents

1. An adjustable vehicle seat mounting comprising: a pair of fixed lowersupport members, each of said lower support members being provided withan elongated opening having a plurality of teeth provided along theupper edge thereof; a pair of upper support members slidably disposedupon said lower support members for longitudinal movement relativethereto, each of said upper support members comprising a generallyU-shaped cross section defined by downwardly depending side flangesextending along opposite sides of said lower support members connectedby a bridge portion extending over the top of said lower supportmembers; a pair of aligned apertures in each of said upper supportmembers registering with each of said elongated openings in said lowersupport members; latch means pivotally secured to one side flange ofeach of said upper support members, each of said latch means having aportion extending through said pair of aligned apertures in said sideflangEs of each of said upper support members and through said elongatedopening in each of said lower support members, such that said portion ofeach of said latch means extends outwardly of the other of said sideflanges of each of said upper support members; means biasing eachportion of said latch means to a first position for normal engagementbetween a selected pair of said teeth of said openings to thereby locksaid upper support members against longitudinal movement relative tosaid lower support members; handle means pivotally secured to the otherside flange of one of said upper support members, said handle meansbeing movable between a first position wherein it is spaced from theoutwardly extended portion of said latch means associated with said oneupper support member, and a second position wherein said handle meansengages said last-mentioned latch outwardly extending portion to pivotthe same downwardly to a second position out of engagement with saidselected pair of said teeth to free said one upper support member formovement along said roller support members; and means for operativelyconnecting said last-mentioned latch means to the other of said latchmeans for pivoting said other latch means from said first position to asecond position out of engagement with its associated pair of teeth. 2.The seat mounting defined in claim 1, wherein said handle meanscomprises a lever pivotally mounted on said other side flange of saidone upper support member, said lever having a handle portion of apredetermined length and an opposite end portion of a selected lengthless than said first-mentioned predetermined length, said handle portionand said end portion extending in opposite directions from the point ofpivotal movement of said lever, said opposite end portion being disposedover said outwardly extending portion of said latch means associatedwith said one upper support member so that upon movement of saidopposite end portion of said lever by actuation of said handle portion,said end portion exerts a force on said latch extended portion to pivotsaid latch means out of engagement with said selected pair of teeth; andmeans normally biasing said end portion to said first-mentioned portion.3. The seat mounting defined in claim 2, wherein said last-mentionedbiasing means comprises: a spring, one end of which is carried by saidhandle portion, the other end of which is carried by said other sideflange of said one upper support member to normally pivot said handleportion downwardly and thus pivot said opposite end portion upwardlyaway from engagement with said outwardly extended latch portion.
 4. Avehicle seat mounting comprising: a pair of fixed lower support members,each of said lower support members being provided with an elongatedopening having a plurality of teeth provided along the upper edgethereof; a pair of upper support members slidably disposed on said lowersupport members for longitudinal movement relative thereto, each of saidupper support members comprising a generally U-shaped cross sectiondefined by downwardly depending side flanges extending along oppositesides of said lower support members connected by a bridge portionextending over the top of said lower support members; a pair of alignedapertures in each of said side flanges of each of said upper supportmembers registering with said elongated openings in each of said lowersupport members; one of said upper support members and the lower supportmember associated therewith defining a first slide mechanism, the otherof said upper support members and the lower support member associatedtherewith defining a second slide mechanism, said first and second slidemechanisms being spaced-apart a selected distance such that one sideflange of said first slide mechanism is in opposing relationship to oneside flange of said second slide mechanism; a pair of latch means, oneof said latch means being pivotally secured to said one side flange ofsaid first slide mechanism and having a portion extending through saidpair of aligned apertures in said side flanges of said upper supportmember and through said elongated opening in the lower support member ofsaid first slide mechanism, the other of said latch means beingpivotally secured to the other side flange of said second slidemechanism, said other latch means having a portion extending throughsaid pair of aligned apertures in said side flanges of said uppersupport member and through the elongated opening in said lower supportmember of said second slide mechanism; each of said latch means beingmovable between a first position for normal engagement between aselected pair of said teeth of said openings to thereby lock said uppersupport members against longitudinal movement relative to theirassociated lower support members and a second position wherein saidlatch means are moved out of engagement with said selected pair of teethto free said upper support members for movement along their associatedlower support members; a pair of lever arms associated with each of saidlatch means, said lever arms being mounted for pivotal movement andextending in an upwardly fashion; means connecting the upper ends ofsaid lever arms such that pivotal movement of one of said latch meanscauses simultaneous pivotal movement of its associated lever arm, theother of said lever arms and pivotal movement of the other of said latchmeans; means biasing said latch means to said first-mentioned position;and means for operatively engaging said one of said latch means to pivotthe same to said second position whereby said connecting means betweensaid pair of lever arms causes said other latching means tosimultaneously move to said second position.
 5. The mounting as definedin claim 4 wherein said operatively engaging means is adapted to engagethe outwardly extending portion of the latch means carried by said firstslide mechanism.
 6. The seat mounting as defined in claim 4 wherein saidoperatively connecting means actuates the latch means carried by saidfirst slide mechanism, said last-mentioned latch means comprising aflange member carried by said one side flange of said first slidemechanism; a latch member, one end of which is pivotally mounted to saidflange member about an axis generally parallel to the axis of relativelongitudinal movement of said upper and lower support members of saidfirst slide mechanism, the other end of said latch member extendingthrough said pair of apertures and engaging said selected pair of teethassociated with said first slide mechanism, said upwardly extendinglever arm associated with said one latch means being supported forpivotal movement by said flange member about the same axis of pivotalmovement as said latch member, said last-mentioned lever arm having afinger extending therefrom; said latch member having an abutment formedon said one end and engaging said lever arm finger to pivot said leverarm in the same direction about said pivot axis as said latch memberpivots when actuated by said operatively engaging means; said pair oflever arms being connected in such a fashion that accidentaldisengagement of the latch mans associated with said second slidemechanism is ineffective to cause disengagement of the latch meansassociated with said first slide member as said one latch memberassociated lever arm is adapted for independent pivotal movement in thedirection corresponding to the direction which causes disengagement ofsaid latch member with said selected pair of teeth.
 7. An adjustablevehicle seat mounting comprising: a pair of fixed lower support members,each of said lower support members being provided with a first elongatedopening having a plurality of teeth provided along its upper edge, saidlower support members each having a second elongated opening spaced fromsaid first elongated opening, said second elongated opening being of aselected predetermined length; a pair of uPper support members slidablydisposed on said lower support members for longitudinal movementrelative thereto, each of said upper support members comprising agenerally U-shaped cross section defined by downwardly depending sideflanges extending along opposite sides of said lower support members andconnected by a bridge portion extending over the top of said lowersupport members; a pair of aligned apertures in each of said sideflanges of each of said upper support members registering with saidfirst elongated opening in said lower support members; fastening meansextending through each side flange in each upper support member and saidsecond elongated opening in each lower support member, said fasteningmeans preventing separation of said side flanges when subjected to anexternal force; bearing means carried by each of said fastening meansand disposed in said second elongated openings for providing a rollingantifriction engagement between the upper support members and theirassociated lower support members, the amount of relative longitudinalmovement between each upper support member and its associated lowersupport member being limited by the abutment of said bearing means withthe opposite ends of said second elongated opening; latch meanspivotally secured to each of said upper support members and extendingthrough said pair of aligned apertures in said side flanges of each ofsaid upper support members and through said elongated openings in eachof said lower support members; said latch means being movable between afirst position for normal engagement between a selected pair of saidteeth in said first elongated opening to thereby lock said upper supportmembers against longitudinal movement relative to said lower supportmember; and means to move said latch means to a second position out ofengagement with said selected pair of said teeth to free said uppersupport members for movement along said lower support members betweenthe limits defined by the abutment of said bearing means with theopposite ends of said second elongated opening.
 8. The seat mountingdefined in claim 7 including means for mounting said seat to said uppersupport member.
 9. The seat mounting as defined in claim 8 includingmeans adapted to secure a safety belt to said fastening means such thatsaid safety belt is movable with said upper support members as saidupper support members move relative to said lower support members.